Dispensing devices for paper towels



prl l2, 1960 D. G. HOPE ET AL DIsPENsING DEVICES FOR PAPER TowELs Filed March 18, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l QJNVENTORS 4 w 5 m ,1 I df Z vil E L 47 \\\\\W. Il .lf|llllllll| U MJ MMU z w Q ,w wW f 4 v l 2 M 2 2 O U N 2.#

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April 12, 1960 D. G. HOPE ET AL Filed March 18, 1955 INVENTom` United States Patent O F DISPENSING DEVICES FOR PAPER TOWELS David G. Hope and Edwin A. Filipowicz, Milwaukee, and Winford G. Renard and Robert B. Wiggins, Green Bay, Wis., assignors to Fort Howard Paper Company, Green Bay, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application March 18, 1955, Serial No. 495,102

3 Claims. (Cl. 221-36) This invention relates to improvements in d-ispensing devices for paper towels.

The present invention is particularly adapted for use in dispensing C-fold paper towels and provides simple leveroperated mechanism for engaging the forward flap of the bottommost C-fold towel of a stack in a cabinet to project the ilap a suflicient distance through a dispensing opening so that it can be grasped Vand pulled outwardly.

A further object of the inventionis to provide a device of the class described wherein there is a relatively wide, exteriorly accessible operating lever which is disposed midway of the width of the cabinet at the bottom thereof, the said lever cooperating with special guiding surfaces adjacent the dispensing opening, one on each side of the lever so that the towel ejecting member will coact more efficiently with the flap of the towel to exert a pull thereon instead of a push at the preformed fold line of the towel.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a construction as above described wherein all of the dispensing parts are arranged as -a unit and mounted on the bottom wall of the cabinet to thereby simplify manufacture and assembly.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device as above described having a centrally disposed, externally accessible operating lever, and having a towelejecting member, the latter being provided with a central U-shaped recess in its forward edge which is in alinernent with the operating lever, to thereby give better access of the hand to the back of the towel ap when the .fuser is withdrawing a towel, and to minimize the possibility of injury to the lingers.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved dispensing device for paper towels which is adapted to dispense only one towel at a time, andwhich requires a second lever operation to project an additional towel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a dispensing device of the class described which is simple and inexpensive in construction, neat in appearance, foolproof in operation, and otherwise well adaptedfor the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of the improved dispensing device' for paper towels, and all of the parts and combinations, as. set forth in the claims, and all equivalents thereof.

ln the accompanying drawings, illustrating one complet embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. l is a front elevational view of a towel cabinet embodying the novel features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional viewtaken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on theline 3- 3 of Fig. l;

` `Fig; 4 is a View similar to Fig. 2 showing the position 2,932,426v Patented Apr. 12, 1960 2 of the parts after the operating lever has Ybeen pushed part way down;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of theA parts after the operating lever has been pushed all of the way down; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal 4sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the proved dispensing device for paper towels is in the form of an upright cabinet, as shown in Fig. 1, and has a back wall 10, a top wall 11, and sidewalls 12. The forward lower corners of the side walls 12 are notched out as at 13, each notch being so cut to provide a pivot ear 14 to which the lower portions of the side walls 15 of a front door 16 are pivoted as at 17. Rearwardly of each of the notches 13 the lower edge of the side wall 12 is inclined somewhat downwardly and rearwardly, as is clear from Figs. 2 and '3.

The back wall 10 of the cabinet terminates short of the lower edges of the side walls` as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the lower portion of said back wall being bent at an angle inwardly into the cabinet as at 18 to form a downwardly inclined rear towel supporting ledge. The lower portion of the front door 16 is flanged inwardly as at 19 to form an inwardly and downwardly inclined front towel supporting ledge.

.The improved dispensing mechanism is all mounted as aV unit on a bottom plate 21 which has upwardly Vbent side flanges 22 which are riveted or otherwise secured as at 23 to the lower portions of the side walls 12 of the cabinet.

The front of the bottom wall 21 is curved upwardly as at 24, and is then flanged rearwardly as at 25, said rear flange having -spaced U-shaped recesses 26. Spaced towel guidingmembers 2'7 have downwardly curved top guiding surfaces as illustrated, said surfaces terminating at 28 a short distance below the lower edge of the front shelf 19. Each guiding member- 27 maybe a hollow stamping having a rearwardly projecting top connection flange 29 which is riveted or otherwise secured to the flange 25. Between the guiding members 27 the bottom 21 and lower part of its upwardly bent front 24 are cut out as at 30. On each side of the cutout a pivot bracket 31, which is mounted on the bottom wall 21, projects upwardly. Each pivot brackethas a-stop ear 32 which projects upwardly through recess Z6 in the iiange 25.

Vthe rear of the lever is an arcuate towel ejector plate or member 35 having a front edge 36 which is cut out centrally in generally U-form, as at 37. The cutout in the front ejector is opposite the lever 33` and has about the same width as the width of said lever.

The lever 33 may be formed in any manner but is preferably formed of stampings assembled to provide a hollow member -as illustrated in Fig. 2, the ejector 35 being integral with and a continuation of a metal stamping 33 which forms the lever bottom.

VAssociated with one of the pivots is a spring 38 (see Fig. 3) which urges the lever to its normally raised position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. When in this position the upper surface of the lever is forwardly and downwardly inclined as at 39 and the extreme front end of' the top projects forwardly at a straighter angle as at 4l)y to provide a finger shelf having a front corner 41.

Projecting forwardly, and bent from the arcuate ejec tor 35, and approximately parallel to the bottom of the cabinet, are stop iianges 40, each equipped with a rubber bumper 41. When-the lever is in the normal raised posijy .tion of the towel thereabove.

Operation In use of the cabinet, the front door may be opened by inserting a key in the lock 42, as is customary, and by swinging the door downwardly on the pivots 17. The cabinet may be completely loaded with paper towels 43 of the C-fold type having aps 44 and 45 formed by prefolding the towels on lines of fold 46 and 47.v The towelsare inserted with the iiaps facing downwardly as shown in Fig. 2. In order not to hide parts of the device only one towel is shown in position. It is to be understood, however, that this is the bottommost towel of a stack of superimposed towels.

When a person desires a towel from the cabinet the lever 33 is pushed downwardly and rearwardly from the position of Fig. 2 toward the position of Fig. 4. During such movement the arcuate ejector is moved as shown in Fig. 4. During movement from the position of Fig. 2

to the position of Fig.r4, the spaced vfront lips 36 of the ejector on each side of its cut-out 37 enter the space between the flap 44 of the paper towel and the main por- Ultimately, the lips 36 cause a bending of the iiap 44 along a line 48 which is intermediate the length of the ap. Thus, instead of engaging within the regular fold line 46 of the towel to push the towel out, the iiap of the towel is pulled out of the dispensing opening 49, which opening is provided by the space between the lower edge of the bottom shelf 19 of the door and the curved surfaces of the guiding members 27.

Upon pushing the lever further inwardly from the position of Fig. 4 to the position of Fig. 5, the part 50 of the towel which is beyond the bend 48 will snap olf of the curved surfaces of the guiding members 27, as shown in Fig. 5. The free edge of the ap may then, if desired, be grasped and pulled out before the lever is released. However, it is much more convenient for the user to first release the lever.V If this is done, the spring 38 at the pivot for the lever will return the lever to the position of Fig. 3, and the front corner 41 of the lever will engage the iiap 44 of the paper towel to project said flap outwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, for more convenient grasp` ing. The user may then pull the towel outwardly to completely remove it `from the cabinet. The next towel at the bottom of the stack will then assume a position such as that shown in Fig. 2 for the next dispensing operation.

When a user pulls the towel out before he releases the lever, the U-shaped cut-out 37 in the ejector lip .36 gives access of the hand to the back of the towel ap and also prevents squeezing of or injury to the fingers.

2having a forwardly and downwardly curved guiding sur- `vface positioned below the flap of the lowermost article l-andV having a forward portion spaced below said top margin of the dispensing opening and positioned to be The upper surfaces of the spaced towel guiding mem-` Y bers 27 at the sides of the operating lever 33 are` curved to coincide with the arc of curvature of the lips ofthe ejector 3S, as is clear from Fig. 4, there being asmall clearance space between the forward portions of the ejector and the curved upper surfaces of the guiding membersA as the rivets 23 on each side, the entire-operatingv'assembly may be removed with the bottom for repair or replace ment. This unitary mounting of the operating mechanism on the bottom plate also simplifies original manufacture and assembly.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated, as may come within the scope of the claims.

What we claim is:

l. In a device for dispensing articles of sheet material each having a front fold defining a ap, said device including a cabinet provided with a front transversely extending dispensing opening having a tap margin, means in the cabinet for supporting said articles in stacked relationship with the ap of the lowermost article disposed in separated condition from the bottom of the rest of the article and near said dispensing opening, an ejector pivotally mounted in said cabinet and having a front article engaging edge positioned to engage said separated ap when the ejector is pivotally moved, a relatively wide external manually operable central lever having sides and having a front extending along a portion of the front of the cabinet below said dispensing opening, said lever having an inner portion connected to said ejector to operate the latter, and

-an article guiding member disposed laterally of said lever on each side thereof between the lever and the side of the 'cabinet to cooperate with the latter in defining the bottom margin of the dispensing opening said member being of less width than the width of the cabinet and having an end adjacent a side of the lever, said guiding member below and to coact with a portion of the ejector during a dispensing operation to support a lower portion of the flap between said guiding surface and ejector as the flap is being pulled out by the ejector and before the rest of the flap clears said top margin, said ejector being of such length .with Vrespect to the length of the guiding surface and the length of said ap of the article as to completely eject the flap when in maximum ejecting position, and

saidlguiding surface being positioned so that its forwardmost portion is within the fold of an ejected article to prevent the ap from springing back to folded condition.

2. In a device for dispensing articles of sheet material, each having a front fold line defining a ap, said device including a cabinet provided with a front transversely extendingdispensing opening having a top margin, means in said cabinet for supporting said articles in stacked relationship with the lowermost articles disposed adjacent said-opening, an ejector pivotally mounted in said cabinet and 4having a front article engaging edge positioned to move a part of said article through said dispensing opening, an external manually operable lever extending along a portion ofthe front of the cabinet below said opening, saidlever being connected to the ejector to pivotally move the latter to dispensing position when the lever is pushed downwardly, means normally urging said lever to a raised position and hence said ejector to a retracted position, and-an article guiding member positioned laterally of-said lever and cooperating with the lever to define the bottom marginof said dispensing opening, said guiding surface being of such length and so positioned as to coact `with aV portion of the ejector during a dispensing operation4 to support avportion of the article between said guiding surface and the ejector as said portion is being pulled out by the ejector and until the front fold line of the article clears the top margin of the opening, said ejector being of vsuch length with respect to the length of the guiding surface and the length of said flap as to completely eject the ap from its position between said guiding surface and the ejector, and said lever having a forward end positioned to engage the inner side of said iiap forwardly orfjits fold line, after it has been thus' ejected and after the lever has been returned to raised position, to hold the ilap in relatively straightened-out unfolded position for easy grasping with its free edge forward.

3. In a device for dispensing articles of sheet material, each having a front fold defining a ap, said device including a cabinet provided with a front transversely extending dispensing opening having a top margin, means in the cabinet for supporting said articles in stacked relationship with the ap of the lowermost article disposed in separated condition from the bottom of the rest of the articles and near said dispensing opening, an ejector pivotally mounted in said cabinet and having a front article engaging edge positioned to engage said separated flap when the ejector is pivotally moved, an external manually operable lever having sides `and having a front extending along a portion of the front of the cabinet below said dispensing opening intermediate the length thereof and said lever having an inner portion connected to said ejector to operate the latter, and an `article guiding mem-V ber on each side of said lever to co-operate with the latter in defining the lower margin of the dispensing opening and having an end adjacent a side of the lever, the sum of the widths of the lever and guiding members being substantially equal to the width of the cabinet, each guiding member having a guiding surface positioned below the ap of the lowermost article and having a forward portion spaced below said top margin of the dis pensing opening and positioned to be below and to coact with the ejector during adispensing operation to support a lower portion of the flap between said guiding surfaces and the ejector as the ap is being pulled out by the ejector and before the rest of the flap clears said top margin, said inner portion of the lever being embraced by and `between said guiding members and there being a gap between the forwardmost portions of said guiding members to accommodate said lever and said guiding surfaces being of a length to prevent the front ilap from springing back to folded position after ejection of said front flap portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,163,737 Calvert Dec. 14, 1915 1,362,817 Parsons Dec. 2l, 1920 1,440,897 Sommer lan. 2, 1923 1,703,710 Cove Feb. 26, 1929 2,119,912 Fuselier June 7, 1938 2,253,744 Witt Aug. 26, 1941 2,258,358 Harvey Oct. 7, 1941 t FOREIGN PATENTS 78,212 Germany Nov. 2l, 1893 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0F CGRRECTION Patent No." 2,932426 l April 1:2, 1960 David G. Hope et al It is hereby certified that error appears in theprinted specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4 line 13,. for "tap" read top Signed and sealed this. 20th day of September 1960..

(SEAL) `Attest:

KARL H, lAXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

